Atlanta is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is one of the South's largest cities. Atlanta is known as a major business city. It is the home of Coca-Cola Company, CNN, AT&T, and Home Depot, as well as many other Fortune 500 companies. Coca-Cola, which is made in Atlanta, is drunk all over the world and its factory is a favorite tourist destination. CNN is also a big tourist attraction. Atlanta's airport, called Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, is the busiest airport in the world. Atlanta is near the center of Georgia and is on the Chattahoochee River.

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Atlanta was built on CherokeeNative American land. It was called Terminus until 1843, when the name was changed to Marthasville. In 1845 the name was changed again to Atlanta.

During the American Civil War, Atlanta was where several battles happened. Some of the battles were the Battle of Peachtree Creek, the Battle of Atlanta, and the Battle of Ezra Church. The city was burnt down and almost entirely destroyed. After the war, the city was built again, and got a nickname because it was built so fast: "the Phoenix City", after the bird which burns itself then rises from the ashes in old myths. A picture of the bird is on the city seal.

There have been racial problems in Atlanta. During riots in 1906, at least 12 people died and more than 70 other people were hurt. In 1913, a Jewish man named Leo Frank was tried in court for raping and killing a girl in a factory where he worked. He was found guilty, but then the government decided not to execute him because not everyone was convinced he had done it. This upset people who thought he had killed the girl, and there were more riots in 1915 and Frank was lynched (hanged with a rope until he died).

In the 1930s, the Great Depression came to Atlanta. Many people did not have jobs and were hungry. The city government was almost out of money and the Coca-Cola company gave the city some money to help. In 1935, the government built the first federal housing project in the United States.

Atlanta's airport is named Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. It is the busiest airport in the world. Delta Air Lines is an airline that has its main office in Atlanta, and it uses Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for many of its flights.